Method and apparatus for valving inflammable fluids



Julys, 1941. l, L Rm.; 2,248,308

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VALVING INFLAMMABLE FLUIDS Filed March 7, 1938INVENTQR ,Zaa c L. ,ce

ATTORNEY 5 Patented July 8, i941,

air-4ans iran stares garant carica METHD AND APPARATUS FOR VALVINGNFLAMMABLE FLUIDS Hsaac lL. Rice, New `if'orlr, N. Y., assigner toBeatrice W. Rice, New York, N. Y.

application March 7, i928, serial No. 194,389

(ci. 24u-135) 9 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for valving inflammablefluids.

Recent aircraft disasters, apparentlyv brought about by the explodingand burning of fluids dumped or valved from the aircraft, have pre- Withlighter than. air machines it is customary to valve the lifting gas, asfor example, hydrogen, when the craft is in the process of mooring.

The present invention has for its object the providing of a method-andapparatus for valving inflammable gases or discharging inflammable fuelsin such a manner that they are completely designed in accordance withthe present invention. y

Fig. 2 illustrates a dirigible provided with a valving spout for theinflammable lifting gas and a discharge spout for the motor fuel.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of an airplane wing showing diagrammaticallyan arrangement for carryingout the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a valving apparatus.

In accordance with the invention, the vehicle which is being providedwith the safety discharge apparatus is provided with a supplementarystorage 'tank in which may be held a non-innamrnable huid. The'nature ofthis fluid may vary though it must in all cases be such that it will notsupport combustion. Carbon dioxide may be used since a small percentageor" this gas will destroy the power of air to support combustion. Acommercial product called Freon is desirable since it may be confined atlower pressures than C02 and yet it has a reasonably high specificvolume. Consequently, lighter tanks could be used for its storage.Liquids such as water or carbcn tetrachloride may also be utilized toforza a non-inflammable curtain around the uid be` ing valved from theaircraft or other moving or stationary object. The terms non-inflammableor non-combustible as applied to fluids in the following description andclaims, are intended to refer to fluids incapable of uniting with oxygento support combustion.

The outlet of the supplementary storage tank containing thisnon-combustible fluid is arranged preferably to surround the normaloutlet of the liquid or gas to be valved. In the case of a liquid fuelbeing dumped, a discharge pipe 5 is preferably arranged'as shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3, so that the end extends substantially horizontallyinto the slip-stream of the aircraft. In case of a lighter than airfluid being valved, a discharge pipe '6 (Fig. 2) should be located onthe vupper side of the craft with the end pointing into the slip-stream.AIt is best that the non-irammable ilud start to discharge shortlybefore the exit of the inammable fluid and continue to discharge for atime after the inflammable uid has ceased to flow. l

In Figs. 3 and 4 is illustrated a partially dia'- grammatic arrangementadapted to carry out the invention with relation to an airplane in whicha fuel tank 'l is carried in the wing. A supple- Inentary storage tankis shown at 8. A valve is connected .to the latter tankvbyfa pipe l@ andto thetank'lbyapipe Il. n n The valve 9 consists of a housing @having acylindrical central recess and provided with a axed to the member llwhich is arranged to.

rotate Within the housing l2. The central passageway of the pipe i8 isopen to a port 2u in member li through a circumferential port 2l inmember i6. The central passageway in pipe i9 which surrounds pipe i8opens to a port 22 in member il through a passageway 23. The valve isoperated bymeans of a lever 2d (Fig. 3) which is connected to membersiti and il. This lever 2! is in turn operated by a cable 25 and lever 26which is actuated from the control room of the plane.

in the operation: Assuming that tank 3 is carrying CO2 at suitablepressure, when the airplane pilot te dump gasoline from he These willmove the valve 9 to such a position that port 22 in member I1 willcoincide with port I4 in housing I2. Carbon dioxide gas will then flowin the passageway between pipe I9 and pipe I8.

Upon further movement of valve 9 the port 20 will register with port I5to permit fuel to flow through pipe I8 to the slip-stream of the plane.

Gasoline will thus be discharged within a wall of non-combustible gaswhich will be discharged with sufficient velocity to maintain the walluntil the gasoline has been carried a safe distance from the ship.

In cutting, off the valve 9 it will be seen that the port I5 will be cutoff first and the carbon dioxide will flow for a certain time before itis shut off thereby insuring complete safety in the fuel discharge. Ifdesired, a timing device may be arranged on the operating mechanism ofvalve 8 to positively provide for the initial and flnal flow of thenon-inflammable gas before and after the flow of the fuel.

It is clear that the above described valving arrangement can be equallywell adapted to the valve of a lighter than air gas, such as hydrogen.In this case, the valve will be arranged at the top of the ship as shownat 6 in'Fig. 2.

The present invention is not limited to valving combustible fluids fromaircraft but may also be used on stationary machines or land vehicleswhich must on occasion discharge inflammable fluid. For example, inpurging a refrigerating machine of the inflammable gas, methyl chloride,it might be desirable to use my method and an apparatus similar to one Ihave disclosed.

l. A method of valving inflammable fluid from aircraft which comprisesinitiating the flow of a stream of fluid incapable of supportingcombustion in a direction away from said aircraft, discharginginflammable fluid in the same direction as said first fluid andpositioning the stream of inflammable fluid in relation to said flrststream of fluid to avoid combustion with the surrounding atmosphere.

2. A method of valving inflammable fluid from aircraft which comprisesdischarging from a conduit a fluid incapable of supporting combustion,and discharging said inflammable fluid from a conduit within the streamof said non-com bustible fluid and in the same direction.

3. In an apparatus .for valving inflammable fluid from a storage tank, atank for noninflammable fluid, a conduit means having an opening fordischarging a stream of non-inflammable fluid from said last named tank,and a conduit means leading from said storage tank to the dischargeopening of said first named conduit whereby said inflammable fluid isdischarged within a stream of non-inflammable fluid, and valve means foropening said conduits so arranged that opening of said inflammable fluidconduit can take place only after said other conduit is open.

y 4. In an apparatus for' valving inflammable fluid from a storage tank,a tank for noninflammable fluid, a conduit means having an opening fordischarging a stream of non-inflan'imable fluid from said last namedtank, and a conduit means leading from said storage tank to thedischarge opening of said ilrst named conduit whereby said inflammablefluid is discharged within a stream of non-inflammable fluid, and valvemeans operable to open and close said noninflammable fluid conduitrespectively before and after the open .and close of said inflammablefluid conduit.

5. In an apparatus for rapidly valving lnfiam mable fluids from thestorage tank of an aircraft, a tank for containing a non-inflammablefluid, conduits leading from said tanks, a valve having entrance portsconnected with said conduits, and a discharge pipe operably connectedwith said valve comprising 'an inner pipe adapted to be connectedthrough said valve to the inflammable fluid storage tank and an outerpipe adapted to be vconnected through said valve to said non-inflammablefluid tank, the exit openings of said pipes being substantially coaxialwhereby said inflammable and non-inflammable fluids may be freelydischarged simultaneously from the pipes in the same direction.

6. In an apparatus for valving inflammable fluids from the storage tankof an aircraft, a tank for containing a non-inflammable fluid, conduitsleading from said tanks, a valve housing having entrance ports connectedwith said conduits, a discharge pipe comprising an inner pipe and asubstantially concentric outer pipe, and a movable valve member in saidvalvehousing adapted upon movement in one direction to connectconsecutively said outer pipe to said noninflammable fluid conduit andsaid inner pipe to said inflammable fluid conduit.

7. An emergency device for emptying a fuel tank of an aircraft andpreventing ignition of said fuel during said emptying, said devicecomprising: fuel discharge means for discharging a stream of said fuelfrom the exterior'of said aircraft; and fluid discharge means forsimultaneously discharging sufficient non-inflammable fluid from saidaircraft in associationwith said stream of fuel during substantially theentire period of fuel discharge to prevent ignition of said fuel; saidfuel discharge means including :walls forming a passage for said streamof fuel fromI said tank and having a discharge port at the exterior ofsaid aircraft; said fluid discharge means including a container fornon-inflammable fluid carried by said aircraft, walls forming a.`

conduit 4from said container and having a discharge port adjacent saidstream of fuel; and control means for controlling the flow of fuel fromsaid tank into said passage and providing for initiating discharge ofsaid non-inflammable fluid from said aircraft substantially concurrentlywith the discharge of said fuel from said aircraft.

8. An emergency device for emptying a fuel tank of an aircraft andpreventing ignition of said fuel during said emptying, said devicecomprising: fuel discharge means for discharging a stream of said fuelfrom the exterior of said aircraft; and fluid discharge means forsimultaneously discharging sufllcient non-inflammable fluid from saidaircraft in association with said stream of fuel during substantiallythe entire,

period of fuel discharge to prevent ignition of said fuel; said fueldischarge means including walls forming a passage for said stream offuel from said tank and having a discharge port at the exterior of saidaircraft; said fluid discharge means including a container fornon-inflammable fluid carried by said aircraft, walls forming a conduitfrom said container and having a discharge port substantially completelysurrounding said discharge port for said passage, and control means forcontrolling the flow of fuel from said tank into said passage andproviding for initiating discharge of said non-inflammable fluid from2,248,3`os Y 3 fluid from said aircraft in association with said 10stream of fuel during substantially the entire period of fuel dischargeto prevent ignition of said fuel; said fuel discharge means includingwalls forming a passage for said stream of fuel from said tank andhaving a discharge port at the exterior of said aircraft; said fluiddischarge means including a container for non-inflammable iiuid carriedby said aircraft, walls forming a conduit from said container and havinga discharge port communicating with said passagef way through the wallsthereof, and control means for controlling the flow of fuel from saidtank into said passage and providing for-initiating discharge -of saidnon-inflammable fluid from said aircraft substantially concurrently withthe discharge of said fuel from said aircraft.

ISAAC L. RICE.

